Pay the lawn guy or buy a zero turn mower ?

[dragoneggs]

Personally I would just cut it myself and not pay a lawn guy at all.

Me too... I'm a DIYer but if money wasn't an issue I would have a lawn guy, a window guy, a roof/gutter guy, a pool guy (need a pool first)... oh and I better throw in a maid to keep the better half happy!

Seriously, I got my eyes on a Kubota Kommander and I will half less than a hilly acre to mow.

 

[pokerboy57]

thank you everyone for your replies. I was thinking more of keeping the lawn guy around for the edging and trimming. taking on cutting the grass myself. I have a JD 3320 tractor and looked at finishing mowers but with the number of trees I have and the number of times I've hit them with the rotary mower (on the Bahia) I wanted something a little more maneuverable . I already cut the Bahia with the rotary mower. was thinking that a zero turn would speed that up, and I could take on the saint Augustine. I've never heard of a Dixon mower prior to this post..... Something new to research. Thanks.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Don't forget to look at Simplicity and Ferris (same mower). I have a 52" Ferris IS700 with Kawasaki 690 FS engine and love the ride. It has a spring over shock suspension system that really smooths out the ride. I mow about 6 acres with mine and have lots of trees and shrubs to mow around and it takes me about 2 hours to mow it. Over half of it is converted cow pasture which is very rough so I don't try to mow full speed which is 9+ MPH. About 6 MPH is comfortable mowing speed. It holds straight on pretty steep hills doing sideways mowing which is something that my Craftsman 6000 wont do even with bar lug tires on the rear.

Look for a machine with a thick fabricated deck instead of the pressed steel kind, it will last a lot longer. Also look for one with the deck suspended by chains rather than fixed linkages, they are much better.

When looking at engines, I like the Kawasaki engines. There are several grades but the FS and FX are the primo grade being near commercial and commercial grade respectively.

The Ferris has all of this.

 

[TJP89]

My first question is why and how are you thinking of lawn care in december? Even if there's no snow on the ground the grass all over the US is dead now, as far as I know.

As others say, why are you paying the lawn guy at all? If you have enough land for a real tractor, there is really no need for it to look like a golf course, and in my experience it's hopeless to try. If you cut the lawn guys job in half, he's not going to be happy, and the per visit cost WILL go up. Either do everything yourself, with the upfront investment, or let him do it all. If you both do it, you will almost never have everything done at the same time, and the yard will be perpetually off balance.

 

[City Farmer]

I'd do it myself. After all the TBN research, it led me to believe I wanted a Kawasaki engine, fabbed deck, duel hydro motors with coolers and chains holding the deck up. The 54" Gravely was the only one that fit the bill for my budget, under $5k @ 0%. It's was some of the best $$ I've spent. Should've done it years ago.

 

[SARG]

$375. per month ! Holy crap .... No wonder there's so many "landscape companies" out there.

 

[nybirdman]

I own JD mowers ,but a friend just purchased a Simplicty and I am very impressed with it.Not cheap at $5,000 but if you are paying $375.00/month for lawn care it sure makes sense to do your-self.

 

[CobyRupert]

$375. per month ! Holy crap .... No wonder there's so many "landscape companies" out there.

:thumbsup:

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

One thing to consider is whats your time worth if you enjoy the work it's a plus but break it down cost of machine, fuel, maintaince can you do it your self how many times a month does he come figured this out on a yearly average and then decide some times when you break it down it's cheaper to have it done.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Most lawn services charge about a dollar per minute. Example:90 minutes to do the job. $90 bill done 4 times a month would equal $360 a month. Not out of bounds at all.